The F. Scott Fitzgerald Society announces its 10th InternationalConference, to take place September 30-October 3, 2009, in Baltimore, MD,and accordingly calls for papers.

The Society customarily meets in locations biographically andartistically significant to F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. As Fitzgeraldwrote of Baltimore, â€œIt is so rich with memoriesâ€”it is nice to look upthe street and see the statue of my great uncle and to know â€¦ that manyancestors of mine have walked in the old town by the bay.â€ Fitzgeraldâ€™smemories reflect both his familyâ€™s Maryland heritage and the time hespent in Baltimore on and off from 1932 to 1937. During this period hecompleted Tender Is the Night while living in a rented home called â€œLaPaixâ€ in nearby Towson; Tender was preceded by Zelda's novel Save Me theWaltz and her play â€œScandalabra,â€ produced by the local Vagabond JuniorPlayers. In addition to academic panels, the conference will include anextensive tour of Baltimore environs by local scholar Joan Hellman.Additionally, the Fitzgerald graves in nearby Rockville are only a short,45-minute drive away by car. Conference organizers are planning areception at the Hotel Belvedere, where Scottie Fitzgeraldâ€™s SweetSixteen Party was held and where Scott socialized with H. L. Mencken inthe Owl Bar. A reception is also planned at Johns Hopkins University,where local scholars will make connections between the Fitzgeralds, theMenckens, and the city. The conference hotel will be the Radisson PlazaLord Baltimore, the premiere hotel still in existence from the era inwhich Fitzgerald lived in the city. In addition to the many Fitzgerald-related sites still intact, Baltimore has many connections to Americanhistory, including the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 (whenFitzgerald's ancestor Francis Scott Key penned â€œThe Star-SpangledBannerâ€), the Civil War, the Civil Rights movement, and rich maritime,railroad, and sports histories. Along with its scenic location near theChesapeake Bay, the city offers scholars and visitors a diverse array ofresearch, touring, and leisure opportunities.